Crystal Mendoza-Lopez

Crystal got the SHiNE Dance Fitness™ certification in 2023. She is also a UPLIFT™ certified instructor.

There wasn't a time when Crystal didn't love dance, either professionally or socially. As a child, she gravitated towards cheerleading, gymnastics, and dance on a city dance team with a core focus on jazz. Her focus shifted from then on to academics, but Crystal loved her weekly Zumba and hip-hop classes in graduate school and her local salsa dancing community.

Crystal discovered SHiNE Dance Fitness™ at the end of 2023 through fellow LPY instructors and got certified six months later!

The ability to bring joy through dance keeps bringing her back to SHiNE Dance Fitness and the strength training format, UPLIFT™, for which she is also a certified instructor.

Crystal is a science writer for Mass General and holds a Ph.D. from the Mayo Clinic in Virology and Gene Therapy.

Crystal enjoys traveling, video games, and spending time with her husband and their corgi, Chente.